1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to photochemical processing materials and more particularly to a chemical solution of the type commonly referred to as a stripping solution for removing polymeric photoresist materials from semiconductor surfaces and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been the practice in the semiconductor industry to use photoresist techniques as the means for developing circuit geometries on a silicon body or silicon dioxide layer during the several stages of integrated circuit manufacture. More particularly, for each circuit pattern to be developed, the substrate is coated with a polymeric photoresist and the photoresist is exposed through a pattern mask to ultraviolet or other suitable light energy which causes certain areas of the photoresist layer to become polymerized. The unpolymerized portions of the layer are then dissolved and removed by a developer solvent, and the residual photoresist film is dried and baked to leave a pattern of polymeric resist which can be used to accomplish a desired etching or dopant deposition operation.
However, following use of the photoresist pattern, it is necessary that the pattern be removed from the surface of the semiconductor. This is normally accomplished by means of a stripper solution. Although numerous prior art formulations have been found more or less suitable for photoresist removal, most such solutions must be used at elevated temperatures of from 90.degree. and 100.degree. C, or are corrosive to the metallic aluminum films that are frequently associated with silicon dioxide coated slicon bodies used in the manufacture of semiconductors.
One prior art stripper solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,219 to Allied Chemical Coporation.